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To use a pencil sharpener, keep the pencil and the
sharpener in a straight line. Do not insert the pencil at an angle or
the point will be subjected to unnecessary pressure and may break.
Pencil sharpeners work very well when new and sharp, but do not last
nearly as long as people think. There are a couple of easy ways to
check whether a sharpener is blunt:
Examine the wood around the pointed pencil. If the
surface of the wood is smooth, then the sharpener is sharp. However, if
the wood is rough or ‘furry’ then the sharpener is
becoming
blunt. A very blunt sharpener will produce a very rough surface on the
pencil point.
Watch the shavings coming out of the sharpener. A
sharp
pencil sharpener will produce a long, continuous sliver of shavings.
The blunter the sharpener the smaller the pieces of shaving become. If
you start to see shard-like pieces coming out of the sharpener, then
throw it away.
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